T.N. bags Best State Award for Swasth Bharat Yatra
Madurai and Sivakasi the best performing districts
Tamil Nadu has bagged the Best State Award for its active participation in the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a pan-India cyclothon aimed at promoting the concept of ‘eating right for a healthy life’.
Madurai and Sivakasi won the awards for the best performing districts, while the State also bagged 17 awards in various other categories.
Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar received the award from Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Tuesday. Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan was present on the occasion.
The State also received awards in six special categories, for six organisations and for the best cyclist, Menakadevi of Salem. Under the ‘eat right creativity challenge’, three schools were awarded in the poster competition and one in the wall art competition.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had organised the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a key element of the ‘Eat Right India Movement’, to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi from October 2018 to January 2019. The objective was to promote the message of ‘Eat Healthy’ to prevent non-communicable diseases, ‘Eat Safe’ to prevent food-borne diseases and ‘Eat Fortified’ to prevent micro-nutrient deficiencies.
During the rally, cyclists visited villages, towns and cities across the country to spread awareness. Two of the six teams visited various districts in Tamil Nadu. They camped in each district for three days and organised awareness programmes.
The Tamil Nadu Food Safety Department made the arrangements to organise the events to create awareness.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – January 30th, 2019
30
A new initiative is here to create awareness on cancer
ESOINDIA conducts fundraiser music programme
Vizhithezhu, an initiative to create awareness about stomach and food pipe cancer and suicide prevention at the district, taluk and village-levels was launched on Sunday by Chennai-based ESOINDIA.
Launching the project at a fundraiser music programme for ESOINDIA at Kalaivanar Arangam, N. Ram, Chairman, THG Publishing Private Limited said when one wanted to achieve a social objective , creating awareness was the key. The media had an important role in creating awareness on the two issues, he said.
Appreciating the work of ESOINDIA founder S.M. Chandramohan, he said he was a humanist and his was evidence-based medicine.
Dr. Chandramohan said the organisation aimed at helping those with gastroesophagal disorders, especially cancers and those who had consumed acid.
“For a doctor, the happiest thing is to see his patients hale and hearty. We see patients who have ingested acid and are unable to eat or swallow even their own saliva,” he said.
Tears of joy
Cancer survivor Roopavani said she had gone to Dr. Chandramohan after she had lost all hope. Now, she leads a normal life with her grandchildren. Mukilan, who had consumed acid, said he shed tears of joy when he had the first morsel of food after 13 long months. Film director Agathiyan said: “There is no life without failure.” M. Kanagavel, secretary ESOINDIA said in February 2020, the organisation would conduct the Asia Pacific Gastro Esophagal Cancer Congress. Prizes were distributed to students who took part in an essay contest as part of World Cancer Day. Doctors Rema Chandramohan and Nalini Krishnan, who is also Co-Chairperson of Kasturi & Sons, Mohan Rajan, Sujatha Mohan, and Poongothai; and actors Varalakshmi and Sathish were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – January 28th, 2019
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Yards to dream upon
From portraits to Christmas patterns, the recently-concluded International Quilt Show showcased creative works of various sizes, shades and nationalities
Jim Morrison strikes a pose with his guitar as disco lights twinkle overhead. Then there are glasses of martini — shaken not stirred — dancing peacocks, cobbled stone paths and landscapes… all on quilts. The recently-concluded International Quilt Show, part of India Quilt Festival 2019 (organised by India Quilt Foundation), displayed patterns that ranged from creative and dramatic to quirky.
“This is the first time this event is being organised in India,” says Tina Katwal, who started India Quilt Foundation along with Deepa Vasudevan and Varsha Sundararajan in January 2018. The event was divided into two sections: competition and exhibition. The competition featured around 290 quilts. With its dizzying colours, varied themes and intricate work, the displays made sure the attendees had their phone cameras out the whole time. The lure of the quilts also ensured heavy traffic outside Sri Sankara Hall, the venue, as people came in droves to witness works of art.
The exhibition section had around 70 quilts, some on loan from countries such as the US, Hungary, Guatemala, Korea, Kuwait, UAE and Scotland.
“India has a large number of talented quilters. While quilting festivals happen the world over, we wondered why it hadn’t been organised here before. We have an online community called Desi Quilters. They seemed excited about the idea of a quilt show. And that’s how it started,” says Tina, who owns a quilt store called The Square Inch.
All about talent
Chitra Mandanna can hardly stop smiling. Of her six exhibited works, four have won her awards. “These include Best of Show and Judges’ Choice in the Art category, and a first prize and an honorary mention in the Theme category,” says Chitra.
A striking portrait of her uncle, made using cheesecloth and denim, stands out. “It took me a month to create this. Working with cheesecloth can be challenging,” says the 42-year-old, adding, “It took me seven months to complete all six quilts. I’ve used techniques such as beading, fabric manipulation, upcycling, confetti quilting…” Only after she lists the different techniques do we realise that there is so much more to quilting than just stitching together layers of fabric, usually saris.
The show also had entries by children, their quilts brimming with things that occupy their thoughts — cupcakes, ice cream sundaes and ice lollies. Ten-year-old S Ritika’s quilt is just as petite as her. The 26X40 inch quilt features a patchwork of chubby yellow, green, orange, pink and brown birds against a black background. “My mother introduced me to quilting. We have two machines at home and sew together,” says Ritika, who took two weeks to complete her quilt.
What also stands out is a hot pink quilt, with rectangular bars in sea green, brown, tan and shades of pink, created using patchwork and machine quilting techniques. Something that would look great as a sari. People around fondly refer to it as the “muttai pink delight”.
“It’s actually a throw,” says Kamala Murali, its 29-year-old creator. “I am a textile designer and use a lot of quilts in my work,” she says, adding, “My grandmother has always collected quilts and since there is something so comforting about quilts, I gravitate towards it.” Kamala is also launching her own textile label titled Kambli, which means quilt in Tamil (nothing to do with Vinod Kambli, the cricketer!).
Quilting is no longer a hobby of the older generations. “I’ve noticed a lot of young people taking to it. I think it’s because they get a large surface to express what they want to say,” says Kamala.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Priyadarshini Paitandy / January 28th, 2019
26
The music keeper
It’s 11.30 am as we walk our way through the bustling streets of radio market on Anna Salai.
Chennai :
It’s 11.30 am as we walk our way through the bustling streets of radio market on Anna Salai. A three-storied building with a board ‘Torvin Audio System’ catches our attention. As we step into the building, we notice a huge projector mounted on the wall along with advanced speakers, amplifiers and home theatres arranged in a studio-like set-up to our right. An assistant guides us to M John Thankachan’s room on the first floor. John is the founder of Torvin Audio System, and is passionate about music and audio electronics.
Ingeniously Indian
John Thankachan is popular in the Indian audio industry. His selfless contribution towards taking music to audiophiles and people from all walks of life through affordable and made-in-India gadgets has earned him the title ‘Father of Indian audio systems’. Down-to-earth, open-minded and hard-working — these are the three words to sum up his persona. Dressed in a white shirt and black pants, John welcomes us into his room with a smile. Electronic magazines are piled up on his table, shelves are stacked with encyclopedias, client folders, and awards, and walls are filled with paintings and motivational quotes. Books, greenery, and music are an inevitable part of his life.
“I like enriching myself with updates and advancements in technology daily through Internet and magazines. I have hard disks with thousands of songs. I’ve been on a solo journey from the beginning. To design music equipment, you need to be a music lover after all,” says John, who lives in Anna Salai with his family. He came to the city 40 years back. John, son of a farmer, was born in a village called Poomala in Thrissur. He completed his diploma in electronics and communication and worked in Murphy Service Center in Kerala for four years. John came to Chennai in the 1980s for a television repairing and service course.
The man behind Torvin
Talking about the inception of his brand, John says, “That was a phase when there were several hindrances in servicing international brands due to the unavailability of spare parts. What started out on a small scale to offer servicing solutions to audio equipment later turned me into an equipment maker. I founded the Power Electronics & Technologies in 1980. In 1990, I started the brand Torvin Audio System and we’ve been in this building for 23 years now,” says John. He was honoured as a Doctor of Audio Engineering and Research by America West University, California, in 2005.
John kickstarted his business in a 150-sq ft room. Currently, he has his own servicing unit, a manufacturing place, and outlets. Unlike a typical workspace, his office has four large speakers with exceptional sound emanating from them. Transparent boxes with connectors, moulded samples, sockets, diodes, and knobs are neatly labelled and arranged on the shelves. The motherboards of the amplifiers and spare parts of gadgets are scattered on the side table, there are a few demo models under testing, and charts with diagrams hung on the walls. His service room is no less than a lab.
“The three challenges in electronic industry are lack of spare parts, skilled labour, and competitive mushrooming of foreign brands. I emphasise on the tagline, which is also my logo, — ‘It’s Indian’. All the equipment here is made with Indian components as much as possible and are priced affordably. But, the radio markets are flooded with Chinese products and people fall for that. We Indians are capable but do not appreciate or support one another. Secondly, engineers go for IT jobs for good pay. Nobody takes up electronics, so there’s always a shortage of labour. It takes years of experience to earn recognition in this field,” he says..
Musical experiences
John’s first innovation was a single station radio for `40 in the 1970s. Subwoofer amplifier, tower speakers and audio systems — he has manufactured them himself. His latest creation under progress is called the project 1.3 speaker system and his best work is a six-foot tower speaker. In the 90s, John was the first to introduce virtual home theatres to Indians. He also built the fully-protected amplifier to bring a theatrical impact at home. He also has a huge collection of electronic gadgets, spanning different eras, stored in a dust-free room on the second floor that is vacuum-cleaned once in three months. One of the oldest of the lot is a radio from the 1950s. John’s favourite is a walkman with a mini-reel player from the 70s. Radios, gramophones, disc players, vinyl, laser discs,and mics, are some of his priceless possessions.
“Given the time and opportunity, I’d like to pass on my knowledge by conducting workshops for sound and electronic engineering students. Lastly, people should listen to good music that captures the sound of every instrument and enhances the singer’s voice,” he says.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Vaishali Vijaykumar / Express News Service / January 29th, 2019
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MSU’s IT Incubation Centre dream realised
Signs an MoU with STPI, New Delhi
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University’s long cherished dream of setting up the Information Technology Incubation Centre on its premises has finally been realised.
A Memorandum of Understanding with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), New Delhi, for setting up an Information Technology Incubation Centre to cater to the needs of the young entrepreneurs in this region by providing an extent of three acres of land on the University campus was signed on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by Vice-Chancellor K. Baskar and Senior Finance Officer, STPI, Devekara Venkanna, STPI in the presence of Registrar, Dr. S. Santhosh Baboo.
Based on the MoU, the STPI will soon invest around ₹ 30 crore for creating infrastructure, export of computer software, IT-enabled services including export of professional services and electronic hardware.
The MoU will facilitate the students of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University to train themselves on a par with the industry standards using the IT Incubation Centre. It will further help to start new IT companies inside the campus which will eventually create the job opportunity to the students.
Though the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University planned to establish the IT Incubation Centre on its premises quite long back, the land required for the venture could not be allotted to STPI. The reason was that there was no separate patta in the name of the University for its 546.98 acre in the Abhishekapatti campus that still belonged to the Department of Animal Husbandry, the actual owner of the land.
Following the steps taken by Dr. Baskar, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University recently received patta for the entire 546.98 acres of its Abishekapatti campus after paying ₹11.50 crore to Department of Animal Husbandry and Live Stock that subsequently paved way for signing of MoU with STPI, New Delhi, a Ministry of Information and Communication’s venture.
The 3 acres of land will be used by the STPI for a lease period of 30 years to run the IT Incubation Centre primarily for the development of young students residing in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari districts with employable qualities and transform them into entrepreneurs.
Moreover, young entrepreneurs and people across the country can also utilize the facilities by setting up their own companies at the IT Incubation Centre of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Special Correspondent / Tirunelveli – January 24th, 2019